1995 RHI season
Guy Rouleau (Montreal) | MVP_link = | top_scorer = Doug Lawrence (Oklahoma) | top_scorer_link = | playoffs =Playoffs | playoffs_link =1995 Murphy Cup playoffs | conf1 =Eastern | conf1_link =Eastern Conference (RHI) | conf1_champ =Montreal Roadrunners | conf1_runner-up =St. Louis Vipers | conf2 =Western | conf2_link =Western Conference (RHI) | conf2_champ =San Jose Rhinos | conf2_runner-up =Anaheim Bullfrogs | finals =Murphy Cup | finals_link =1995 Murphy Cup Finals | finals_champ =San Jose Rhinos | finals_runner-up =Montreal Roadrunners | playoffs_MVP = Jon Gustafson (San Jose) | playoffs_MVP_link= |nextseason_year = 1996 |prevseason_year = 1994 | seasonslistnames =RHI }} The 1995 RHI season was the 3rd season of Roller Hockey International. It began in June 1995, with the regular season ending in August. The Murphy Cup playoffs ended in September, with the San Jose Rhinos defeating the Montreal Roadrunners to win their first Murphy Cup in overtime of game three. The St. Louis Vipers hosted the 2nd RHI All-Star Game at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri on July 15, 1995. League business Franchise changes Arena changes The Chicago Cheetahs moved into the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois and the St. Louis Vipers moved into the newly opened Kiel Center in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. New uniforms The Chicago Cheetahs and Los Angeles Blades debuted new uniforms, while the New Jersey Rockin Rollers debuted a slightly altered uniform. Contraction The Calgary Rad'z, Florida Hammerheads, Las Vegas Flash (formerly Utah Rollerbees), and Portland Rage all folded after two seasons in the league. The Pittsburgh Phantoms and Tampa Bay Tritons each folded after only one season in the league. Also, the Minnesota Arctic Blast franchise left the league after the 1994 season. Relocation The Atlanta Fire Ants relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to become the Oklahoma Coyotes, the Edmonton Sled Dogs relocated to Orlando, Florida to become the Orlando Rollergators, and the New England Stingers relocated to Ottawa, Ontario to become the Ottawa Loggers. Expansion The league added two new franchises, including the Detroit Motor City Mustangs and Minnesota Blue Ox. Realignment With the smaller RHI and the relocation of three franchises, for this season the league kept the same divisions as the 1994 season, with a few changes. In the Atlantic Division, the Florida Hammerheads and Tampa Bay Tritons folded, and the Buffalo Stampede were moved to the Central Division. The three existing franchises, (the Montreal Roadrunners, New Jersey Rockin Rollers, and Philadelphia Bulldogs) were joined by the Ottawa Loggers, formerly the New England Stingers, from the Central Division, and the Orlando Rollergators, formerly the Edmonton Sled Dogs, from the Northwest Division, to bring the total to five teams. In the Central Division, the Minnesota Arctic Blast and Pittsburgh Phantoms franchises folded. The Oklahoma Coyotes, formerly the Atlanta Fire Ants, and Ottawa Loggers, formerly the New England Stingers, were moved to other divisions. The two remaining teams, the St. Louis Vipers and Chicago Cheetahs, were joined by the Buffalo Stampede and two expansion franchises, the Detroit Motor City Mustangs and Minnesota Blue Ox for a total of five teams. In the Northwest Division, the Calgary Rad'z and Portland Rage folded. The Phoenix Cobras and Orlando Rollegators, formerly the Edmonton Sled Dogs, were moved to the Pacific Division and Atlantic Division respectively. The Sacramento River Rats and Vancouver Voodoo were joined by the Oakland Skates and San Jose Rhinos from the Pacific, to bring the total number of teams to four, making it the smallest division in RHI. In the Pacific Division, the Las Vegas Flash, formerly the Utah Rollerbees folded after one season. The Oakland Skates and San Jose Rhinos were moved to the Northwest. The Oklahoma Coyotes and Phoenix Cobras were added from other divisions to the three existing members, the Anaheim Bullfrogs, Los Angeles Blades, and Oakland Skates to bring the division to five teams. Season schedule RHI again increased its regular season schedule from 22 to 24 games per team. In the new schedule, each Eastern Conference team will played their divisional rivals four times for a total of 16 games, and played four other conference teams two times for a total of 8 games, bringing the total number of games to 24. In the Western Conference, each team played their divisional rivals four times, and played all other conference teams two times. Because the Northwest Division only had four teams, each team played one of their divisional rivals 2 extra times for a total of 6 games, instead of 4. Regular season Divisional standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Note: x''' – clinched playoff spot, '''y – clinched division title, z''' – clinched regular season conference title, '''b – clinched best overall record, e''' – eliminated from playoff contention Conference standings Note: '''x – clinched playoff spot, y''' – clinched division title, '''z – clinched regular season conference title, b''' – clinched best overall record, '''e – eliminated from playoff contention Tiebreaking procedures If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the ranking of the clubs is determined in the following order: #The fewer number of games played. #The greater number of games won. #The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing. #The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season. #The fewer number of goals against. Statistical leaders Scoring leaders Leading goaltenders Playoffs Playoff seeds After the regular season, the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Anaheim Bullfrogs were the Western Conference regular season champions and had the best overall record with 39 points. The Montreal Roadrunners had the best record in the Eastern Conference with 33 points. Division champions maintain their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams got reseeded below them after each round. Eastern Conference #Montreal Roadrunners – Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions, 33 points #St. Louis Vipers – Central Division champions, 28 points #Ottawa Loggers – 29 points #Minnesota Blue Ox – 26 points (13 wins, 4 points head-to-head) #New Jersey Rockin Rollers – 26 points (13 wins, 0 points head-to-head) #Philadelphia Bulldogs – 26 points (12 wins) #Detroit Motor City Mustangs – 26 points (11 wins) #Chicago Cheetahs – 22 points Western Conference #Anaheim Bullfrogs – Pacific Division and Western Conference regular season champions; Best Overall Record winners, 39 points #Vancouver Voodoo – Northwest Division champions, 27 points #Sacramento River Rats – 27 points #San Jose Rhinos – 26 points (+11 goal differential) #Phoenix Cobras – 26 points (even goal differential) #San Diego Barracudas – 25 points #Oakland Skates – 24 points #Los Angeles Blades – 23 points Playoff bracket In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home floor advantage. In the Murphy Cup Finals, home floor is determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-three series follows a 1–2 format: the lower-seeded team will play at home for game 1, and the higher-seeded team will be at home for game 2, and if necessary, the 12–minute period game 3. RHI awards See also * Season structure of RHI * 1995 Murphy Cup playoffs * 1995 RHI Draft * 1994 RHI season * 1995 RHI transactions * 2nd Roller Hockey International All-Star Game * Roller Hockey International All-Star Game * 1995 in sports Category:Roller Hockey International Category:1995 in sports de:Roller Hockey International 1995